REVIEW: Crowded House, Afterglow (Capitol IMPORT)
- Scott Slonaker
Despite two major hits ("Don't Dream It's Over," "Something So Strong") amidst the pop freakshow of the late '80s, Crowded House seem largely forgotten. Such is the double-edged sword of craftsmanship as music's selling point -- you get more respect from the pundits, but without a larger-than-life persona or movie-star spouses or tabloid appearances -- with obscurity quick to follow. And Crowded House's brand of melodic, Beatlesque song writing is scarce enough in today's pop landscape.
Oh, sure, Finns & Co. will live on in '80s compilations and Pop-Up Video, but that framework will never seem to fit them. Crowded House are no less than the greatest band to ever come out of Australia, and time spent with any of their four albums (or the excellent best-of compilation, Recurring Dream) is quite rewarding. Neil Finn has written at least a dozen songs in his lifetime that deserve to be all-time classics, true successors to the Lennon-McCartney legacy.
Fans can rejoice with the release of Afterglow, a 13-track odds-'n-sods collection culled from almost a decade of recording. Truth be told, the album doesn't hold a candle to any of the band's proper albums, but anyone who owns some or all of those records should not hesitate.
Afterglow features only two tracks that have ever been released in any form. One is the acoustic version of the gorgeous "Private Universe" from Together Alone. The stripped-down backdrop turns the central chorus of "I will run for shelter/Endless summer, lift the curse/It feels like nothing matters in our private universe" into nothing less than a mantra. The U2/Midnight Oil wide screen panorama of "Recurring Dream" appeared only on a soundtrack.
Of the "new" songs, the opener, "I Am In Love," adds an unexpected lyrical directness to the band's usual translucence. "You Can Touch" is a willowy ballad in the vein of "Four Seasons in One Day" or "Into Temptation." The soaring "Anyone Can Tell" could have been a single from any of the albums.
Any B-sides disc is incomplete without a few interesting side trips. The band rarely did out-and-out aggression ("Locked Out" being the noted exception), instead changing up its mid-tempo/ballad main courses with White Album quirk. Afterglow, in the same tradition, contains the Squeeze-like "My Telly's Gone Bung" (written by drummer Paul Hester) and "Left Hand" are good examples.
Crowded House seem unlikely to reunite, at least for awhile (both Finns have solo careers), and Afterglow is a fitting document of their mastery. An American release is currently slated for a May release, but who knows? Fans who don't want to wait should hit the import house.
